A social experiment in quilty communication and collaboration. Discover a virtual patchwork of quilters throughout the year: each week a new quilter will take over the 52Quilters twitter, blog and instagram. The goal of this project is to document the collective crafted life of quilters.

Friday, March 6, 2015

But isn't quilting expensive?!

I’ve heard lots of people say that one
thing that holds them back from trying quilting is that they can’t afford
it.They don’t have a sewing machine,
they can’t afford to buy a large stash of fabric, supplies and notions are so
pricey, instruction books and patterns cost too much, design walls are beyond
their budget.Well, let me assure you
that, while you can definitely spend a small fortune on this hobby, it is not
necessary, nor essential to drop large amounts of money to enjoy a creative
quilting adventure.

1: Sewing machine

Sewing machines are amazing, it’s
true.But if you don’t have one, never
fear!I suggest you give English Paper Piecing
(EPP) a try.This is a technique that
involves hand sewing, and yields fantastically precise and beautiful
results.And good news! It’s super easy
to master.

These are all the supplies you need to do EPP: needle and cardstock paper pieces, gluestick, needle, thread, fabric scissors, fabric. That's a cheap startup!

2: Stash building

When you see people online posting pictures
of their fabric stash, it very well might be that they have a large bank
account to indulge regularly in huge fabric purchases.But most often, it is the result of years of
accumulation.So find a collection you
like, buy a fat quarter bundle, and set to work.You can keep your scraps and fabrics you
don’t end up using, and voila!You have
the start of your very own fabric stash.

This is a fat quarter bundle of Sweet as Honey designer fabric. It costs around $50, depending where you buy it, and you can sew a twin size quilt and still have left overs.

3: Supplies and notions

It’s true.If you want the best of the best, it will cost you a pretty penny.And if you are deeply engrained in the hobby,
by all means, indulge in a fabulous set of fabric scissors, or that huge
cutting mat.But for those of you just
starting out, know that the mediocre pair of scissors will still cut
fabric.The on-sale seam ripper will
still rip seams.The walmart cutting mat
and ruler will still measure correctly.To start out, there is no shame in not buying the top of the line
tools.Upgrade later on if you find
yourself truly wanting and needing the better set of tools.Also, know that there are quite a few good
DIY options for many of the “essential” supplies.Just because you can buy laser cut hexagon
pieces, and acrylic templates for EPP, doesn’t mean you have to.It is so easy to print out the shapes you
need on card stock and cut them out yourself.And you can make your own templates for under a dollar! (I wrote a
tutorial on my blog if you’re
interested).

Um.The internet.You are already
paying for it.Use it wisely, and you
can learn everything you need to know.There are a huge abundance of patterns available for free.And if you find a for-sale pattern that you
absolutely must have, often you can purchase it as a pdf download for a lower pricedirectly from the designer.

Of course, sometimes you get the books for a gift, and those are good times!

5: Design walls

Okay, this is a nice little indulgence, but
it is absolutely not necessary.You can
quite easily lay out a quilt on the floor or your bed.Now, that being said, I am not going to
lie.The floor is full of pet hair, and
the bed doesn’t give you a good head-on view to really get the feel of your
design.If you are lucky enough to have
a bit of empty wall in your home, you can set up a design wall for under $10. Here's how:

Buy a picnic tablecloth.The kind with a fuzzy back.

Using pushpins, tack it to your empty wall
with the smooth side touching the wall.

Now you have a design wall!

The fuzzy back holds up fabrics so well,
and you can get a hair-free, head on view of your quilt.If you need a bigger design space, buy two and hang
them side by side.If you can get one
with the checkerboard pattern on the front, you even have gridlines for lining
up your blocks.Easy peasy!

My design wall. I could only find zig-zags. Believe it or not, the picnic table cloth selection is a little lacking in the middle of winter in Canada.

So please don’t let the perceived costs hold
you back.Just like in any field, you
can absolutely find top-of-the-line equipment that costs top-of-the-line
money.But you can also find affordable
options, and if you get creative, excellent DIY solutions.

Post by Laura - Week #9: Laura is an adventurous crafter who enjoys sewing, knitting, crochet, cooking, making cakes and blogging. Quilting is a relatively new string to her bow - but after quilting for little over a year she has completed three quilts and is working on a La Passacaglia quilt as a new project for 2015. Laura blogs and shares her crafty life at http://thehomemadeheart.blogspot.ca/

8 comments:

Another great way to get into quilting with minimal cost is to join a local group like Quilts for Kids. My local chapter has a monthly meeting where all you need to bring is yourself and a willingness to learn and make for others. We regularly hand over kits for quilt tops and for tote bags. The makers return the finished tops for another member of the group to quilt and then another for binding. All you have to contribute is time.

Nicely written article that I hope people find who are interested in quilting. I would like to say that sewing machines don't have to be pricy. Really, not pricy at all! I went in shopping for one and I didn't want to spend a lot. I wasn't sure if I would like the hobby. And, honestly, I didn't want a bunch of bells and whistles with my machine. I wanted it to be simple and easy to use. I bought my Baby-loc Anna for less than $200! It does everything I need it to and it's great! I've had it for over a year now and haven't wanted to trade up at all!

You are 100% right that you don't need a sewing machine worth a couple grand to still be able to make beautiful things. I don't have a super fancy machine either, but I love it, and it hasn't let me down yet! If you have a couple hundred, you can definitely find a machine that gets the job done! Thanks!

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Each week a new quilter will take over the 52Quilters social media accounts and use them to share what they do, what inspires them and the world they live in. Follow 52Quilters to find out about new quilters and their communities.